American Cable Association Board Member Patricia Jo Boyers testified April 9 before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of new communications laws and policies that need to reflect the unique challenges faced by independent cable operators in providing rural America with the most advanced communications services.

Boyers, President and Chief Executive Officer at BOYCOM Cablevision, Inc. in Poplar Bluff, Mo., appeared before the panel's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. Led by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the panel provided a forum for a leader of the independent cable community to identify problems and propose solutions that would spark investment in advanced technologies, especially broadband Internet access, in communities at risk of being left behind.

The American Cable Association is calling on the Department of Energy to take cognizance of the existence of small cable operators and scale back proposals that would place costly compliance burdens on small operators through regulations that would mandate tests on the energy efficiency of set-top boxes (STBs) used in millions of pay-television homes.

“ACA supports the effort to make STBs as energy efficient as possible, but DOE's proposals utterly fail to account for the cost burdens they would impose on small cable companies that lack the resources to comply with a host of complicated mandates," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.

The American Cable Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt broadband subsidy rules that will not increase the risk that high-cost areas served with broadband by cable operators, who built their plant through private capital, are not overbuilt by large local telephone companies receiving support from the Connect America Fund (CAF).

"The FCC should protect the public by ensuring that broadband deployment subsidies do not result in significant government-supported overbuilding, which would cause real harm to cable operators that have invested only private capital," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. "It would also mean that locations across the country that need support will not receive broadband because the program would not have additional funding."

News Corp. To Take Fox Off Air If Courts Back Aereo Service (The San Francisco Chronicle, 4/8)
News Corp.’s Fox network will go off the air and become a cable channel if U.S. courts don’t stop Internet startup Aereo Inc. from retransmitting shows like “The Simpsons” without permission, said Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey.

BCI Buying James Cable (cedmagazine.com, 4/4)
BCI Broadband, the company formed by former executives from Bresnan Communications, is buying James Cable.

Centurylink, Frontier, Windstream Ask FCC For More CAF-1 Broadband Funding (FierceTelecom, 4/4)
Three of the largest independent wireline telcos--CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), Frontier (Nasdaq: FTR), and Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN)--have sent a letter to the FCC asking them to provide additional Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I money to extend broadband into more rural locations.

Does Dish Want To Buy Aereo? Broadcasters Would Love To Know (paidcontent.org, 4/4)
Here’s the latest chapter in the broadcaster’s fight against Aereo, the New York-based startup that is streaming over-the-air television over the internet: Fox, Univision, PBS and others are trying to figure out what exactly the company has been discussing in its talks with Dish Networks, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week.

Cable Org Hopes To Halt Subsidized Telco Broadband Invasion (rbr.com, 4/2)
The American Cable Association thinks that areas where cable companies have made the investment to provide internet service should not be labeled unserved and eligible for government investment in telco entry into the local broadband market.

Across this vast country, small and rural markets participate in the digital revolution by receiving video, broadband, and phone services from nearly 850 small and medium-sized independent operators represented by the American Cable Association (ACA).

ACA’s members -- cable, phone, and fiber-to-the-home operators and municipalities -- deliver affordable basic and advanced services to more than 7 million households and businesses. ACA members operate in every state, offering high-definition television, next generation Internet access, and digital phone service.

Access to advanced communications is not a luxury but a critical necessity for consumers and companies, schools and hospitals. America’s economic prosperity in smaller markets and rural areas depends on the growth and success of ACA members, who believe a connected nation, is a united nation.

The ACA asks lawmakers and regulators to ensure fair treatment so that small and medium-sized independent operators may continue to supply affordable video, broadband, and phone services to Main Street America. Through active participation in the policymaking process, ACA members and leaders advocate for the interests of their customers, their companies, and their communities to help ensure the continued viability of their way of life in hometown America.